WAIPIO, HI (April 20, 2013) – The fifth-ranked Hawai'i Pacific Men's Tennis Team secured the first ever Men's PacWest Men's tennis Championship after a thrilling 5-3 victory over No. 12 Fresno Pacific (16-7) at Central Oahu Regional Park on Saturday. After falling behind 2-1 in doubles play, the Sea Warriors rallied to take the match after winning four of the six singles matches.

“Who wants a hug?” exclaimed the notoriously sweaty and soon to be named tournament Most Valuable Player, Petr Michnev after securing the championship clinching point  in a tense three-set first singles match. Although the top-seeded Sea Warriors were tournament favorites, the road would not be easy as Fresno Pacific would not go down without a fight.

Doubles play began with the Sea Warriors and Sunbirds splitting second and third doubles. Fresno took second doubles 8-5 while HPU's Juame Martiniez-Vich and Max Hertl emerged victorious in third doubles, 8-3.

The attention then moved to the main court as HPU's first double pair of Michnev and Gerald Moretti faced FPU's Kirill Sinitsyn and Kyle Rowe. Michnev and Moretti, the tenth ranked doubles pair in the nation, built an early lead in their match, but Rowe and the demonstrative Stinitsyn rallied to a 9-7 come-from-behind win.

Down 2-1 after doubles the Sea Warriors had their work cut out for them in singles play.
Needing to win four of six singles matches and looking for a spark, HPU Head Coach Hendrik Bode shifted his lineup bringing in Maxime Halflants in to sixth singles, forcing everyone else from the 4-6 positions to move up one place.

Halflants answered with a strong showing winning 6-1, 6-3 while Yann Renault coasted to a 6-2, 6-3 victory in fourth singles. After dominating in his doubles match, Martiniez-Vich coasted to a 6-3, 6-0 win in second doubles setting the stage for the much anticipated first singles match of Michnev vs. Sinitsyn to be the deciding factor.

The contrasting personalities of the two players was evident from the beginning, as the stoic Sea Warrior captain had the sizeable home crowd fired up after  winning the first set 6-4. The fiery Sinitsyn answered by taking the second set 6-2, getting the Fresno Pacific crowd in to the match.

The pair split the first four points of the final set, but Michnev shifted in to another gear down the stretch, closing out the decisive set 6-2 much to the delight of the home crowd.

Including their doubles match, Michnev and Sinitsyn spent nearly five hours straight on the court before Michnev clinched the championship point.

After the match the Sea Warrior captain talked about his team's performance and their chances at winning a national title, “That's our goal (national title) and I think we can do it. We proved we have a lot of heart and fight today and we're going to need it.”

HPU now awaits their draw for the NCAA Division II National Championships in Surprise, AZ held May 8^th-11^th.
 
Doubles
1.Petr Michnev/Gerald Moretti (HPU) vs. Kirill Sinitsyn/Kyle Rowe (FPU)-- FPU wins 9-7
2. Yann Renault/Clemens Graute (HPU) vs. Michael Tymkiw/Amarit Sanchez (FPU)-- FPU wins 8-5
3. Jaume Martinez-Vich/Max Hertl (HPU) vs. Stefan Loop/ Marco Gabriel (FPU)-- HPU wins 8-3

Singles
1. Petr Michnev (HPU) vs. Kirill Sinitsyn (FPU)-- HPU won 6-4, FPU won 6-2 , HPU wins 6-2
2. Jaume Martinez-Vich (HPU) vs. Amarit Sanchez (FPU)-- HPU won 6-3, HPU won 6-0
3.  Max Hertl(HPU) vs. Michael Tymkiw (FPU)-- FPU won 4-6, HPU won 6-3, unfinished
4.  Yann Renault(HPU) vs. Marco Gabriel (FPU)-- HPU won 6-2, HPU wins 6-3
5.  Adriano Locorotondo(HPU) vs. Kyle Rowe (FPU)-- FPU won first set 6-4, FPU wins 6-3
6. Maxime Halflants (HPU) vs. Stefan Loop (FPU)-- HPU won 6-1, HPU wins 6-3